An Auckland family that has been waiting to hear news of their elderly mother - who was missing after the deadly typhoon in the Philippines - is overjoyed to hear she has been found alive.
The Maga family, of New Lynn in West Auckland, have spent the past week bracing themselves for bad news after seeing photos of the destroyed city of Tacloban, where their 70-year-old mother and grandmother lives.
Dennis Maga said his wife, Amie, had become distraught after seeing pictures of the apartment building her mother, Ernesta Dural, stayed in.
Ms Dural's apartment was totally flattened by Typhoon Haiyan and there were reports that up to 1000 bodies had been found in the apartment wreckage.
But late last week, the family was contacted by a volunteer on the ground who happened to come across a plea that Mrs Maga had posted on Facebook.
